The years 2020 and 2021 will always be remembered as those times when entrepreneurs were forced to rethink their business strategies to cope with the most challenging period in economic history.
While medical frontliners and scientists were scrambling to save as many people from the deadly virus, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Philippines were among those given the task of saving as many businesses from closing permanently, while encouraging newly jobless employees to turn to entrepreneurship to survive.
DTI regional and provincial offices, while facilitating smooth flow of supplies of basic necessities to groceries and supermarkets, are also tasked to make sure that prices of these basic necessities are within the Suggested Retail Prices (SRP).
This balancing act of helping business enterprises to continue operating while making sure they follow health protocols is a stressful task for field workers. More so, if they are expected to report regularly to head office.
However, these reports are the basis for how well DTI assistance has positively affected entrepreneurs.
Every year, the DTI Philippines gives tribute to Filipino entrepreneurs by doing free product promotional activities for them.
In Central Visayas, DTI is paying tribute to two entrepreneurs. Getting their story was not an easy task, considering the lockdowns, social distancing and other health protocols that needed to be followed. I would like to thank DTI provincial employees Kyle Durano and Kent Calumba for interviewing these region7 entrepreneurs.
SANDRIA’S DELICIOUS CONCEPT
Sandria Cadusale was already engaged in business as a teenager selling sambag and yema to her friends and classmates.
This passion for entrepreneurship remained with her even when she was employed as an accountant. At this time, Sandria also started selling barquillos, a recipe she learned from her brother-in-law.
While pursuing graduate studies, she sold barquillos to classmates and had her products displayed in office and school canteens. She later ventured in the commissary business with her househelps as employees. Thus, the company Sandria’s Deicious Concept was born.
Sandria’s Delicious Concept is primarily managed by Sanria Rillo-Cadusale and a team of dedicated employees.
It was in 2018 when Sandria joined DTI’s Kapatid Mentor Me Program. This has allowed her to improve the packaging of her products and widen her market reach.
Her graduate school classmates and KMME mentors helped her come up with new product flavors. With her persistence and much improved delicious snack items, Sandria was able to penetrate international markets and Pasalubong Centers.
Sandeia’s company was able to improve not just the packaging of its products but also its labelling with the assistance of DTI’s One Town, One Product (OTOP) program and with the company’s participation in trade fairs.
When the world was put to a halt during the pandemic, Sandria’s business pivoted to packaged food.
Some of her company’s inventory that weren’t shipped out due to restrictions were donated to frontliners and hospitals as ‘gutom savers’. This was also her way of sharing her blessings.
To date, Sandria’s food supply business has grown along with her delicacies. She managed to close deals with corporate accounts. She is currently providing 500 meal packs daily to a big company in Cebu and to stalls of a famous convenience store which also sells her sandwiches, salads, breakfast and frozen meals. Her famous barquiron, barquillos filled with polvoron are also displayed in local malls, and are shipped out internationally. For these reasons, Sandria’s Delicious Concept is able to employ more people and triple sales.
For more information on Sandria’s Delicious Concept, visit the following Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/sandriasbest/
GREEN THUMB FARM
Rona Denque of Corella, Bohol never thought that one day she would be handling pots and bags instead of papers and pens. As a career woman, Rona used her farming skills to de-stress from her lending business. At first, she would harvest her organically grown vegetables for personal consumption and sell some to her friends.
Rona then found herself cultivating oyster mushroom out of curiosity. She did research about the farming process and scoured for information from private individuals who are more knowledgeable. Although most of the public have a negative perception on mushrooms, Rona believed that mushroom farming has big potential in Bohol.
Moving from lending to farming was not easy for Rona. As a budding entrepreneur, she had difficulty in marketing her products outside her circle of friends. She experienced a lot of accumulated harvest that instead of making profit, the mushrooms end up being meal for pigs. Out of desperation, she tried selling them to public markets but to no avail.
Eager to turn things around, she then signed up for a Food Safety Seminars conducted by Negosyo Center-BOSS (Business One Stop Shop) of Bohol. From there she learned how to test the shelf life of her products as well as the right way of handling processed food. From then on, she did not stop acquiring information. With businessfurther assistance from DTI and Negosyo Center, she was able to attend business seminars and trainings, as well as product development. Denque was able to her improve products’ packaging and labeling designs, was provided guidance on food flavor and shelf life with DTI’s resident Food Technologist, as well as availed regular free consultation at the Negosyo Center.
Because of all the help she for, Rona was able to process her mushrooms into chicharon, chili sauce, pickled mushrooms, and tocino. Aside from that, she was able ink deals with major wholesalers in Cebu and Mindanao.
Just as the tide is starting to be in her favor, COVID-19 pandemic struck. As soon as the lockdown was imposed, she had a difficult time disposing of her inventories intended for the National Food Fair. “A substantial number of food products expired,” she said. “But we have to be on the move or else my employees would have nothing on their tables.”
In doing so, Rona joined barter communities for her products to be exchanged with rice and groceries for her employees.
Her desire to help her employees pushed her to strive harder to market her products. One day, Denque noticed how training guests would look for a venue where they could take their lunch after visiting her farm. With the limited capacity of restaurants, the preference of people for open spaces, and the need to unwind after easing of restrictions, Rona and her husband came up with Al Fresco dining.
In just a couple of weeks, the couple transformed their vast vacant lot into a serene and stress-free zone. The al fresco experience serves mushroom-based dishes directly sourced from their mushroom farm. Additionally, as a KMME Mentee Graduate, she was able to collaborate with her co-mentees in providing new offerings. Together with her KMME batch mates, she was able to include desserts and hot beverages in her menu, as well as artisanal soaps for souvenirs. “Collaboration was a key factor tobthe positive response of our restaurant,” Rona said.
At present, the open-air restaurant has expanded its business hours from an appointment only weekends to operating the entire week. This resulted to increasing her workforce and led Denque to hire displaced workers and even a Persons with Disability (PWD). She was also able to provide additional income for the families of her employees by having them assist her in taking care of her mushroom produce. The positive response from customers to her business provided security for her employees and more.
Looking back, Rona Denque admitted that her learnings from DTI helped her navigate the new normal. “The lessons from the trainings especially from KMME were valuable and helpful,” she said. Without those seminars and trainings, Rona added that she would not have thought about adjusting to the current situation and would have simply close her business. “It’s the value of a good mindset and innovation that helped me survive the challenges today, ” she concluded.
Indeed, Sandria Cadusale and Rona Denque are good examples of entrepreneurs who overcame their doubts and achieved success through their own perseverance as well as help of family, friends and agencies such as the DTI.
Cadusale and Denque are DTI Central Visayas’ “Zero to Hero” entrepreneurs for year 2021.
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